Fewer teachers won’t improve student learning: Lantz

Lantz
was reacting to news that at least 28 teaching positions are being cut from
Island classrooms for the next school year as a result of last week’s provincial
budget.

“The
Education Minister's spin on teacher cuts wasn't open and transparent, sounding
more like the same script the last minister had when teaching positions were
cut. The bottom line is that there will be fewer teachers in Island classrooms
next year and that's not a good thing for students or teachers,”
said Lantz.

Lantz
questioned the wisdom of having fewer teachers in the classroom at a time when
there are already major challenges around large class sizes and student
learning.

“It's
well known that large class sizes are a roadblock to student achievement. If we
kept the same number of teachers in the classroom as enrollment decreases we
could make ground on smaller class sizes. That would help students and teachers
achieve better results and that's where our focus needs to be,” said Lantz.